Tony Gwynn

As a fan of both baseball and all around good guys, I was saddened to hear about the premature death of Tony Gwynn at 54 ( "What a sad day as Tony Gwynn leaves us too soon," June 16). Tony was one of the very best of his era, a batting champion many times, multiple All Star Team member, and an inductee into the baseball Hall of Fame along with the Orioles' own Cal Ripken. Many words were spoken about this outstanding figure from the world of sports, but very few were devoted to how was it that such a superb athlete came to such an early end. He died of cancer brought about by the use of the most deadly substance legally available in our society - tobacco.

Professional baseball great Tony Gwynn Sr., also known as Mr. Padre, died last month of salivary gland cancer, which he believed was caused by years of using smokeless chewing tobacco. The cancer is a rare form that begins in any of the salivary glands in the mouth, neck or throat. Two adults in 100,000 are diagnosed with salivary gland cancer each year. The chances of survival drop if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Dr. Patrick K. Ha, with Johns Hopkins Head and Neck Surgery at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, says new types of treatments and therapies are in the works to treat the disease.

Other than that sweet swing and the 3,141 hits, the thing that stood out the most about Tony Gwynn was the 1000-watt smile that shined on everyone he met and seemed to be right for every occasion. If Gwynn, who died from cancer Monday at age 54, appeared to be the world's nicest human whenever he showed up on ESPN's SportsCenter or at some local charity event, then there really is truth in advertising because he was the real deal both on the field and off it. Of course, he was one of the greatest all-time hitters and, if you needed a testimonial to that, you could have asked Ted Williams before he died in 2002. He was a big fan of Gwynn's, as was Cal Ripken Jr., whose heartfelt statement Monday simply confirmed what anybody who ever met Gwynn already knew.

The death one week ago of baseball's Tony Gwynn, who is often remembered by Baltimoreans for his induction in the Hall of Fame in 2007 with Cal Ripken Jr. , called attention to the dangers of smokeless tobacco. The former San Diego Padres batting champ suffered from oral cancer and blamed two decades of chewing tobacco for his plight. As well-publicized as the health risks of tobacco may be in the U.S., the focus has been placed primarily on the dangers of cigarette smoking. That's understandable given the cigarettes are by far the most popular tobacco product.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - While growing up in San Diego, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones idolized Tony Gwynn as a player, then later gained greater admiration for him after getting to know the Padres Hall of Famer as a person. So the news of Gwynn's death Monday at age 54, after a four-year battle with cancer, hit Jones especially hard. "I've known the man for most of my adult life, so it's tough when someone passes like that, especially the impact he'd had on not just myself, but on countless major leaguers, and just people in general, in the San Diego community," Jones said.

Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn always will be linked by a splendid Sunday in July 2007, when baseball fans massed to celebrate all that was still good in the game. The pair went into the Hall of Fame together - Gwynn, the voluble hitting wizard, and Ripken, the indestructible shortstop. They seemed to admire each other as much as the crowd appreciated them both. So Ripken reacted with sadness Monday when news emerged that Gwynn had died at age 54 after an extended battle with cancer . “This is an extraordinarily sad day,” Ripken said in a statement.

SAN DIEGO -- Tony Gwynn, although having one of the better seasons in baseball history, recently endured a 5-for-28 mini-slump during six games in six days in four time zones. (You think the achievements of earlier eras were more impressive?) Then Gwynn used the fourth pitch he saw here at home to restore normality.On a two-and-one count in the first inning, Pittsburgh's pitcher thought he would be safe if he kept the ball out of the strike zone. Silly him. Gwynn jerked a low-and-inside sinker into right field for a single.

Roberto Alomar was 20 years old when he became an everyday player in the majors, with San Diego in 1988. Padres right fielder and perennial batting champion Tony Gwynn told Alomar then that, sometime in the future, he would win batting titles.That time, Gwynn said Saturday, is now. In his first year with the Orioles, Alomar leads the majors with a .401 average.Gwynn, whose .394 average in the strike-shortened 1994 season is the closest anyone has come to .400 since Ted Williams batted .406 in 1941, said Alomar has a shot at finishing with that magical number this year.

PHILADELPHIA -- The greatest hitter of his era has spent the past 14 years putting up numbers out of a 1930s time warp. But now, just over the horizon -- he's just two away after getting three hits last night -- Tony Gwynn can finally see the round number that will define his career:Three thousand, as in 3,000 hits.Other men have been there (21, in fact). Other men have done that. But no hitter of this generation will have done 3,000 the way Tony Gwynn will have done 3,000."People tell me that 3,000 puts me in select company, but I think I'm probably in select company already," said Gwynn, who had two singles and a grand slam in last night's 7-6 loss to the Cardinals, putting him two hits short of 3,000.

As a fan of both baseball and all around good guys, I was saddened to hear about the premature death of Tony Gwynn at 54 ( "What a sad day as Tony Gwynn leaves us too soon," June 16). Tony was one of the very best of his era, a batting champion many times, multiple All Star Team member, and an inductee into the baseball Hall of Fame along with the Orioles' own Cal Ripken. Many words were spoken about this outstanding figure from the world of sports, but very few were devoted to how was it that such a superb athlete came to such an early end. He died of cancer brought about by the use of the most deadly substance legally available in our society - tobacco.

Other than that sweet swing and the 3,141 hits, the thing that stood out the most about Tony Gwynn was the 1000-watt smile that shined on everyone he met and seemed to be right for every occasion. If Gwynn, who died from cancer Monday at age 54, appeared to be the world's nicest human whenever he showed up on ESPN's SportsCenter or at some local charity event, then there really is truth in advertising because he was the real deal both on the field and off it. Of course, he was one of the greatest all-time hitters and, if you needed a testimonial to that, you could have asked Ted Williams before he died in 2002. He was a big fan of Gwynn's, as was Cal Ripken Jr., whose heartfelt statement Monday simply confirmed what anybody who ever met Gwynn already knew.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - While growing up in San Diego, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones idolized Tony Gwynn as a player, then later gained greater admiration for him after getting to know the Padres Hall of Famer as a person. So the news of Gwynn's death Monday at age 54, after a four-year battle with cancer, hit Jones especially hard. "I've known the man for most of my adult life, so it's tough when someone passes like that, especially the impact he'd had on not just myself, but on countless major leaguers, and just people in general, in the San Diego community," Jones said.

Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn always will be linked by a splendid Sunday in July 2007, when baseball fans massed to celebrate all that was still good in the game. The pair went into the Hall of Fame together - Gwynn, the voluble hitting wizard, and Ripken, the indestructible shortstop. They seemed to admire each other as much as the crowd appreciated them both. So Ripken reacted with sadness Monday when news emerged that Gwynn had died at age 54 after an extended battle with cancer . “This is an extraordinarily sad day,” Ripken said in a statement.

Hall of Fame outfielder Tony Gwynn is battling cancer of a salivary gland, according to an interview he gave to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Gwynn told the paper he has had surgery three times to remove tumors on the parotid, the largest of the salivary glands. He said procedures done in 1997 and three years ago were cancer-free, but a surgery performed last month revealed a malignancy. Gwynn told the paper that doctors removed three lymph nodes, and testing showed the cancer.

Two rare baseball phenomena are on course to happen so far this season, but, like asteroids that come hurtling into Earth's part of the galaxy, they are unlikely to hit the mark. These two things intersect at 1060 West Addison in Chicago, where the Atlanta Braves are playing the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Chipper Jones, the Braves' superb third baseman, is hitting over .400 for the first third of the season, chasing an elusive mark last achieved by Ted Williams in 1941. And the Cubs, the most championship-famished franchise in the history of major American sports, have the best record in the major leagues, with hopes of capturing their first pennant since 1945 and even - maybe, perhaps - their first world championship since nineteen-aught-eight.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.-- --Soon after Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. overcame their fear of public speaking, somebody tried to usher them back into the sad reality of sports in today's society. The question - delivered at the Hall of Fame's post-induction news conference - was about the immediate juxtaposition of yesterday's uplifting induction ceremony and Barry Bonds' controversial pursuit of Hank Aaron's all-time home run record, but neither Tony nor Cal would bite. "What a great day today is," Gwynn said pointedly, " ... 75,000 people."